IFN E-Bulletin March 2010

For the full document :  www.dharmapeople.com/ftp/ifn/IFN_E-Bulletin25March2010.htm

IFN website : http://www.interfaith.org.uk/

Contents :

Inter Faith Week in England and Wales

An Inter Faith Week will take place across England and Wales from Sunday 21 to Saturday 27 November 2010.

Scottish Inter Faith Week

This year’s Scottish Inter Faith Week will run from 28 November to 5 December.

New IFN Co-Chair from Christian community

Rt Revd Dr Alastair Redfern, IFN’s new Co-Chair from the Christian community, co-chaired his first Executive Committee meeting in February together with Dr Girdari Lal Bhan of the Hindu community.

IFN publications

Three IFN reports have recently been printed, including the report of a seminar held jointly with the National Association of SACREs on Local Inter Faith Organisations and Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education: Working together for understanding and community cohesion as part of IFN’s ‘Soundings’ programme.

Equality Bill

The Report stage in the House of Lords of the Equality Bill was completed on 2 March and Third Reading took place on 23 March. A full briefing note on the Bill was placed on IFN’s website last month.

Faiths in Action Round 2 and ‘Faith Matters’

The second round of funding under the Faiths in Action programme administered by the Community Development Foundation is open for applications.

Secretary of State announcements at Faith and Social Action conference

At the Communities and Local Government conference, Faith and Social Action: Innovation and Expertise, held in London on 17 March its Secretary of State, Mr John Denham, announced a number of measures relating to faith based engagement in social action and in the ‘public square’.

Visible - quality assurance and faith based organisations

The Faith based Regeneration Network (FbRN) is working with the Community Matters, the Church Urban Fund and the Faith and Civil Society department of Goldsmith’s College to develop a quality assurance framework for faith based organisations.

Two EHRC research reports

The EHRC has published two reports in its Research Report series.

National Policing Improvement Agency guidance

The Citizen Focus and Neighbourhood Policing Programme Team of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has recently produced an interactive guide for neighbourhood policing teams and partners on Working with Faith Communities.

Counter Terrorism in Places of Worship

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has researched and produced a guide intended to give protective security advice to those who are responsible for security in places of worship.

Charity Commission guidance on elections

The Charity Commission has published an updated version of its guidance on Charities and Elections.

New model constitution for very small charities

The Charity Commission, in partnership with a number of umbrella bodies across the charity sector, has launched a new, simplified constitution which is designed for very small charities with an annual income of under £5,000.

Charity Commission good practice guide for faith-based organisations

The Charity Commission has published Faith in Good Governance, a new guide to good practice for the 30,000 faith-based organisations in the third sector.

Public benefit assessments for charities

The Charity Commission has placed on its website a report on the emerging findings for charity trustees of its public benefit assessment work so far. The report contains case studies relating to 12 charities (including four charities ‘advancing religion’).

Refreshed ‘Compact’ published

A refreshed version of the ‘Compact’ between the Government and the voluntary sector has been developed.

Places of Worship risk survey and VAT refunds

English Heritage, as part of its Heritage at Risk programme, is researching the physical condition of places of worship.  A large number of historic church buildings are under threat because they will soon lose the right to a special VAT refund.

Revised guidance for RE

Updated guidance on RE provision for primary and secondary schools and local authorities to support the delivery of good RE in schools in England by the Department for Children, Schools and Families was published at the end of January following a consultation exercise last summer.

Annual Scottish Inter Faith Council Networking Seminar for Local Inter Faith Groups
The Annual Networking Seminar for local inter faith groups in Scotland will take place on Sunday 16 May from 12 noon until 4.45pm at the Beveridge Park Hotel in Kirkcaldy.

Regional inter faith link meeting in East of England.

The Inter Faith Network holds, with the regional faith forums in the English regions, periodic meetings for local inter faith organisers to share news and discuss issues of common concern. The next such meeting will take place in the East of England in Cambridge on 19 April.

Building Good Community Relations in Wales

The Inter-faith Council for Wales is currently working on a project with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Community Development Foundation to help build capacity for inter faith work in Wales.

Inter Faith Facilitators online community

The St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace has created an online community for ‘interfaith facilitators’.

Inter Faith Network website

The Inter Faith Network website is currently undergoing re-design.

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